Today, for the first time in the club’s history, Slovácko football will present itself in the core group of European Cups. As part of the conference tournament, they will host Partizan Belgrade, the team that knocked out Sparta Prague from the same competition last spring.
Last year, the Serbian national team was finally eliminated from the next round, when they lost twice to Feyenoord of the Netherlands. However, in Europe, this is an experienced team, which is also the reason why Slovácku was included in Group D of a high-performance basket.
This year, Belgrade were eliminated from the European League just as Slovácko in the third preliminary round, but after the elimination they continued to expand the team. “Partizan still has high quality, after being eliminated from a better competition, they have improved the quality of the team. Before the match, I will not reveal the characteristics of the opponent, but they have strength in front and behind.” Team coach Martin Svodik assessed the strength of the opponent.
Svědík did not consider the last confrontation between Serbs and Spartans a subject. He smiled, “I don’t count on it, it was February. It’s been half a year, which can’t be compared after that. And we are not Sparta.”
The team under his leadership has been working in the same rhythm for ten weeks. English weeks don’t give Manchaft a chance to breathe. “We only have one system now. Pre-match training, match training and recovery afterwards,” Svědík stated. This program is supplemented by video sessions where important aspects of the game are discussed.
The combination of the domestic league and European cups is not a problem, according to captain Michel Kadlec. “We’re really ready for it, even if it’s not easy. You don’t have time for other hobbies and interests. It’s hard for us to deal with Milan (Petrella),” Kadlik laughed.
Description of the rhythm of the match.
When he came to the stadium in Uhersk Hradisto on Wednesday, he was reminded of the Champions League he played with Leverkusen.
He described his impression of the stadium which changed its colors to the usual black and green for the Conference League.
Slovácko has already achieved his main goal, which is to advance to the main group in the European Cups. According to the coach, his players can play more comfortably.
“We shouldn’t be mentally constrained. We still have to focus and have the will to win. We’re playing at home and obviously ready in our heads for the fact that we have to succeed. We’re not going into the match with a different mentality,” Svidek explained.
